The Sea, the Sea

By: Iris Murdoch, Mary Kinzie - introduction

Narrated by: Simon Vance, Kimberly Farr

Winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Charles Arrowby, leading light of England's theatrical set, retires from glittering London to an isolated home by the sea. He plans to write a memoir about his great love affair with Clement Makin, his mentor, both professionally and personally, and amuse himself with Lizzie, an actress he has strung along for many years. None of his plans work out, and his memoir evolves into a riveting chronicle of the strange events and unexpected visitors—some real, some spectral—that disrupt his world and shake his oversized ego to its very core.

©1978 Iris Murdoch (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Profound and delicious for many reasons . . . a multilayered working out of her feelings about the intensity of romantic experience. . . [it] also happens to be intelligently and sympathetically concerned with four of my favorite things: swimming, eating, drinking and talking . . . it is an ideal beach book—especially if you enjoy the cooler and pebblier and spookier northern sort of beach."—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

"A joy to read: a rollicking story that seems endlessly to be building towards some awful, hilarious, frightening conclusion."—Harper’s Bazaar

"Sublime [and] profound . . . She takes great care to imbue the house, the sea, the surroundings—everything—with depth and significance . . . exhilarating."—Sam Jordison, The Guardian, "Booker club"

Brilliant Narration

Skip the prologue. It’s a load of
unnecessary gibberish. The story
moves well overall but there are periods where it mires. There are
few narrators that could work this
as well.

Entrancing

A great and profound novel. And frequently hilarious. Simon Vance is brilliant , helping immeasurably to bring the whole thing to life.

Again!

Lost in Iris Murdoch's story and language from the beginning. So much here that after I pull up the boat, make camp, and get a good night's sleep, I will do it again.

Way too long

I refused to give up on this novel because I wanted to finish it, thinking it’s going to pick up. It never did. The middle 2/3 could be cut. Plot doesn’t move along. I wouldn’t have minded so much if the interior thoughts of the protagonist actually carried some philosophical insight or were even entertaining but the character is just self absorbed and full of nonsensical ponderings. However, at least now I am very familiar with British food!

It’s the Narrator

The story is magnificently told. The characters are so much fun. The plot is twisty and clever. This a story made for audio. Love. It.

Simon Vance performance excellent

I've, more often than not, been a content person. I care what is actually being said. Yet for the texture created in this story Vance does a heroic effort. Playing characters - even the timing of dialogue sounds exceptional, like you were at the movies. Both writer and performer really impressed me.

Brilliant!

What a surprising, absurd, and delightful treasure. This book was candy for my brain. Skip the horrifying long intro and get right to novel. Delicious.

Complex psychology of a narcicist

Initial slow going on its setup with meticulous descriptions of scene and daily routine. Hang in there. The first person narrator slowly and inadvertently eveals himself as a vain, self-deluding, self-serving bastard who shamelessly uses friends and lovers for his own psychological needs. This novel has rich spiritual musings, and tells a complex and moving story. And, actually, quite a lot of sardonically funny scenes. Excellent narration.

One of My Favorite Books

I have read over 600 books and this is one of my favorites! I have listened to the audible version twice and Simon Vance's performance is perfectly amazing and Iris Murdoch delivers her finest work!

Dark, tense, a gentle almost magical bludgeoning...

What a miraculous book. I have only just now finished it, and I already know that I will begin the re-listening of it tonight. I cannot wait. Without a doubt, it is on that shelf of one of the very best.

You are wondering what it is about? Heavy sigh. It is about everything, of course, as the greatest books are. But, Murdoch focuses with frightening clarity on marriages, relationships, lost love, delusions, the darkness we hide from, and the darkness we hide away.

It is a stormy, psychological journey into the hearts of many different characters whose paths are all intertwined. It begins with a famous actor/director (Charles Arrowby) retiring to a little run-down house by the sea where he swims, cooks wonderful meals, collects rocks, thinks, and writes about his life. Lord, it sounded like heaven to me. Of course, it was not.

There are tiny little shadows cast upon the reader from the start, and we slowly grow uneasy with the knowledge that so much is hooded, masked, and cloaked in falseness and danger, but we cannot quite put our finger on what it is. The zig-zagging trajectory of the tangled lives cannot be forecasted by the reader. Although we long for a predictable outcome to so many of the extraordinary events, this is not what we get. Murdoch is a realist. She puts a little dash of beast in everyone and the effect is a gentle bludgeoning which (sickeningly) we do understand, and from which (appallingly) we cannot tear our ears away.

I felt slightly shackled to this story. Even when I took a break from the listening, her words followed me. Everywhere. It is haunting. It is very powerful. Murdoch was an amazing talent. How many authors can conjure the perfect words to describe "eyes that are determined to lose hope"? She does this and other breathtaking word-feats. Aren't you curious?